Three students of filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s institute Whistling Woods International were associated with Life of Pi, which won four Oscars

Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee, took away the trophy for the Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Music and Best Visual Effects at the 85th Academy Awards held in Los Angeles on February 24.

And while we all know that the cast and crew of the movie had many Indians in it, what comes as one more pleasant surprise is that three students from filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s prestigious institute Whistling Woods too had worked on the film. Murali Krishna worked with Claudio Miranda, who won the trophy for cinematography. Kavan J Ahalpara and Supreet Singh were part of the team at Rhythmn & Hues that won for the best visual effects at the gala night.

“Six years ago, we dreamt that one day our students would be part of a winning film at the Oscars. I’m extremely happy for my students,” Meghna Ghai Puri, President of Whistling Woods International, Mumbai, said in a statement.

Life of Pi, based on Canadian author Yann Martel’s book of the same name, narrates the journey of an Indian boy who survives a storm. The film features Indian actors Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Tabu, and a huge Indian crew had worked on the movie too.